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Glycobiology Advance Access published online on April 24, 2009
Glycobiology, doi:10.1093/glycob/cwp059
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Sulfated polysaccharides from marine sponges (Porifera): An ancestor cell-cell adhesion event based on carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction

Eduardo Vilanova1, Cristiano C. Coutinho2 and Paulo A.S. Mourão1,3

1 Laboratório de Tecido Conjuntivo, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho and Instituto de Bioquímica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941–590, Brazil
2 Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941–590, Brazil

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: pmourao{at}hucff.ufrj.br

Received on March 13, 2009; accepted on April 16, 2009

Marine sponges (Porifera) are ancient and simple eumetazoans. They constitute key organisms in the evolution from unicellular to multicellular animals. We now demonstrated that pure sulfated polysaccharides from marine sponges are responsible for species-specific cell-cell interaction in these invertebrates. This conclusion was based on the following observations: 1-) Each species of marine sponge has a single population of sulfated polysaccharide, which differ among the species in their sugar composition and sulfate content; 2-) Sulfated polysaccharides from sponge interact with each other on a species-specific way, as indicated by an affinity chromatography assay. This interaction requires calcium; 3-) Homologous, but not heterologous sulfated polysaccharide inhibits aggregation of dissociated sponge cells; 4-) We also observed a parallel between synthesis of sulfated polysaccharide and formation of large aggregates of sponge cells, known as primmorphs. Once aggregation reached a plateau, the demand for de novo synthesis of sulfated polysaccharides ceased. Heparin can mimic homologous sulfated polysaccharide on the in vitro interaction and also as an inhibitor of aggregation of the dissociated sponge cells. However, this observation is not relevant for the biology of the sponge, since heparin is not found in the invertebrate. In conclusion, marine sponges display an ancestor event of cell-cell adhesion, based on calcium-dependent carbohydrate-carbohydrate interaction.

Key words: aggregation factor / cellular interaction / cell aggregation / heparin / primmorphs / proteoglycans / species-specificity


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